Need to Unwind? Try These Three Cozy Wineries on Long Island’s North Shore

Long Island’s wineries continue to be a popular wine tourism destination, especially on the North Shore where there are more than 60 wineries. Long Island’s wines are known award winners, but the region’s climate and terroir make it somewhat unique. For instance, its Cabernet Sauvignon is lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon from California because its growing season is shorter. The region also produces a wide variety of wines, although certain types, such as Merlot, are particularly prevalent.

I’ve been to several North Shore Long Island wineries with my mother, who lives in Queens, New York. The North Fork Wine Trail, where most of the wineries are clustered, is about a 90-minute drive from there.  A few are even closer.

But their experiences vary considerably. Some boast elaborate tasting rooms; others welcome large groups and flaunt a major party atmosphere, or have received a lot of publicity and thus are on more people’s radar. It can be hard to ascertain just what kind of experience you’ll have. Most news articles about the wineries don’t provide that information, and at most, a winery’s website provides only a clue (like “dogs welcome” or “no buses”).

This time we wanted to relax in a low-key atmosphere. We have been to a number of lovely, mellow Long Island wineries, including  Paumanok Vineyards, Ev&Em Vineyards, Terre Vite North Fork Winery & Vineyards, and Jamesport Vineyards. For this trip I also wanted to visit three wineries that I had not been to previously.

If you need to unwind, try these three cozy wineries on Long Island’s North Shore.  

Lenz Winery 

Founded in 1978, family-owned Lenz Winery in Peconic on the North Fork Wine Trail is the second oldest winery on Long Island, producing 100% estate grown (it grows its own grapes) French-style wines. The rustic tasting room, originally a potato barn, has only about 30 seats. Paintings by local artists and available for purchase adorn the walls. There is also some outside seating.

I opted for the “Spring Flight” while Mom sampled the “Grand Flight,” each of which contained five wines. There are also library wines, a flight with chocolate pairings, and light bites (we had the hummus).

I tasted both my flight and a few from Mom’s:

Firefly Rosé, 😊++

Estate Selection Chardonnay 😊+

Old Vines Chardonnay 😊++

Cabernet Sauvignon 😊++

Estate Selection Malbec 😊+

Estate Selection Merlot 😊++

Old Vines Gewurztraminer 😊

Suhru & Lieb Vineyards

The second winery we visited was family-owned Suhru & Lieb Vineyards in nearby Cutchogue. I’ve actually already sampled the wines from both Suhru and Lieb. However, I had not visited since the two wineries merged and I had not been to the indoor tasting room, which was recently renovated. It’s also small and rustic but more airy, with barn doors separating a small private library room for groups of up to 12 people. There is outdoor seating from May through November.

The merger of the two wineries is notable since the owner of Suhru was also the winemaker for Lieb before he purchased it. Lieb is an estate winery, while Suhru is negociant style (it buys its grapes from others) so now the winery is one of the more diverse in the region. Lieb also produces more classic wines, like Chardonnay and Petit Verdot; Suhru often focuses on lesser-known winemaking styles and varietals, such as the Italian Teroldego.

There are several tastings to choose from, including a red wine flight, a spring flight, and a sparkling flight.  We opted for the white and rosé tasting of five wines and a generous cheese board.

We sampled:

Pinot Blanc (Lieb’s signature white and a recent award winner) 😊++

Pinot Grigio, from Suhru 😊++

Sauvignon Blanc, from Suhru 😊+

Chardonnay, from Lieb 😊😊

Rosé, from Suhru 😊😊

Harmony Vineyards 

For a change of pace, for our third winery we decided to go to Harmony Vineyards, an adults-only winery on the North Shore of Long Island near Stony Brook University about 30 minutes west of the North Fork Wine Trail. This waterfront winery is right on Stony Brook Harbor and is one of the most Instagram-worthy wineries I’ve been to (you can even arrange photo shoots). The vineyard in the backyard stretches all the way to the water; there’s a gazebo right on the water, as well.

Tastings are held on the first floor of a historic mansion circa 1690 that fits right into the affluent neighborhood. The atmosphere is unhurried and comfy; there’s a working fireplace and board games available, so visitors can sit and linger. There are also a few tables outside.

As the winery produces only Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Bordeaux blends, the flights were more limited here.

I sampled:

Chablis style Chardonnay 😊++

Bordeaux style red blend 2014 😊++

Bordeaux style red blend 2019 😊++

Cabernet Franc 😊++

Caveat: If you want to make a reservation at Harmony Vineyards, know beforehand how it works. We paid $36 each for two prepaid, nonrefundable reservations. The reservations page notes that this is a credit, which I didn’t find troublesome. However, the website doesn’t specify what kind of flights are offered, and doesn't include prices for the food and beverages, so you don’t know the costs until you arrive. I had assumed that flights were $36 each, in line with other Long Island wineries.

That was a mistake. The flights were only $16 or $21 each, depending on whether you purchased three or four glasses. While that’s reasonable, we had prepaid for considerably more than that.

What to do with the difference? You could hit the mark by buying food or a bottle of wine. But we had wanted flights so we could sample the winery’s different varietals, and had already eaten, so we were not hungry.

Had I known beforehand, I would have made sure to visit this winery first without a reservation or made a reservation and purchased lunch there to use up the entire credit. The winery courteously gave us a refund for the prepayment, but I would have preferred to have avoided the hassle. You might consider calling before making a reservation to see if making just one reservation for a table would suffice.

I hope this information on three cozy wineries on Long Island’s North Shore helps you plan a visit there.

Are there other wineries - cozy or not - on Long Island that you’d recommend when you need to unwind? Let us know! We’re at info@winewithourfamily.com. 

If you enjoyed this article, visit our website and check out some of our related ones:

4 Ways to Craft Your Long Island North Fork Wine Experience

The North Fork: A Review of 3 Long Island Wineries